News & updates

Month: Mar

A key function of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) is to help reduce the regulatory burden on the Australian not-for-profit sector. To achieve this, the ACNC has embarked on a research program to measure the red tape burden on charities and identify target areas for red tape reduction.

Board committees exist within all types of organisations across all sectors and serve all manner of functions within those organisations. As a general guide, most companies will be required to have as a minimum committees dealing with some of the core functions of the organisation, such as audit, risk, nomination and remuneration.

When ASIC first made it clear that it intends to focus on culture in companies, critics noted that in order to explain the cultural framework of a company, it would need to send ASIC all the policy manuals; all the standard operating procedures; a description of all the roles; charts of the organisational structure which show the limits of roles and relationships within the firm and a psychiatrist’s report on the CEO and executive team’s behaviour.

The charities sector has welcomed the announcement from Ministers Christian Porter and Kelly O’Dwyer that the Federal Government will support the continuation of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission (ACNC). Previously the government had said it would disband the ACNC, causing uncertainty in the sector as to its regulatory framework and hampering efforts to reduce red tape.

Given the importance of ensuring that all shareholders are provided with the opportunity to vote on resolutions, it is advisable for votes not to be held on a show of hands, say key stakeholders, given that the shareholders present at the AGM represent a tiny portion of the total shareholders.

Thomson Reuters has published Top 5 Compliance Trends Around the Globe in 2016, which shows that promoting a culture of integrity; keeping pace with intensified regulator attention and reach; monitoring third-party risk; encouraging whistleblower activity; and increased investment in compliance operations are the focus of businesses around the world.